The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published its 2016 Healthcare-Associated Infection Progress Report. The report provides year-to-year progress on the prevention of key healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in acute care hospitals, long-term acute care hospitals and inpatient rehabilitation facilities.

The HAI Progress Report consists of national and state-by-state summaries of HAIs across the settings. The 2016 HAI Progress Report is the first report to measure year-to-year HAI prevention progress using the 2015 baseline (reference point). 

While progress was seen in some areas, improvements are greatly needed in others. Here are some national highlights from the 2016 HAI Progress Report:

Acute Care Hospitals

• About 11% decrease in central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) 

• About 7% decrease in catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) 

• About 13% decrease in abdominal hysterectomy surgical site infections (SSIs) 

• About 7% decrease in colon surgery SSIs 

• About 7% decrease in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia 

• About 8% decrease in Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infections

Long-Term Acute Care Hospitals

• About 4% decrease in CLABSIs

• About 15% decrease in C. difficile infections

• About 5% increase in ventilator-associated events (VAEs) 

Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities

• About 7% increase in CAUTIs

• About 17% increase in MRSA bacteremia

• About 4% decrease in C. difficile infections

Working toward the elimination of HAIs is a CDC priority, and should be a priority of all healthcare organizations. Data indicates that on any given day, about 1 in 25 hospital patients has at least one HAI. They lead to the loss of tens of thousands of lives and cost the U.S. health care system billions of dollars annually.

If your organization needs assistance with developing, implementing and maintaining evidence-based infection prevention and control programs, contact Infection Control Consulting Services (ICCS), a nationally renowned consulting firm offering expert services to healthcare facilities and organizations.